New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Chinatown

Hidden Histories of Jazz Age New York

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Hidden Histories of Jazz Age New YorkHidden Histories of Jazz Age New York: From the Suppressed to the Strange (SUNY Press Excelsior Editions, 2026) by Jonathan Ezra Goldman offers a fresh look at 1920s New York City, unearthing stories of everyday life and marginalized communities.

In sections that intertwine entertainment, politics, art, technology, crime, shopping, eating, and recreation, the book portrays sweeping events such as the Harlem Renaissance, Prohibition, and immigration through anecdotes of individual experiences that counter the era’s popular conceptions of ballooning wealth and uproarious celebration. [Read more…] about Hidden Histories of Jazz Age New York

Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, Thomas Nast & Chinese American History

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Postcard of Mott Street, Chinatown late-19th century, published by Brown BrothersMigration from Asia to the United States was minimal before the 1800s, but facing poverty and political instability large numbers of Chinese residents began looking a better life in the West from the 1840s onward.

Many would escape the Taiping Rebellion, a large-scale civil war that had started in 1850. Lasting for fourteen years, violence and persecution encompassed much of Southern China, pushing citizens away from their traditional homes. [Read more…] about Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, Thomas Nast & Chinese American History

Tales of Early American – Chinese Trade Relations

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Detail from Risso & Browne, “Afong Moy, the Chinese Lady," 1835 (New York Public Library)The tradition of freak shows in Europe dates back to the sixteenth century. Medical “monstrosities” became standard components of traveling exhibitions. During the nineteenth century such shows caught the imagination of large viewing (and paying) audiences.

Human exhibits were presented for public entertainment and the parade of “freaks of nature” was a booming business. With the expansion of colonialism, the emphasis changed from physical to racial characteristics. Displays of exotic but “backward” populations (“human zoos”) became common in the 1870s in the midst of imperialist ambitions. [Read more…] about Tales of Early American – Chinese Trade Relations

New Source for New York City Street Name History

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a new map by the Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS). The map helps connect people to the nearly 2,500 streets, intersections and other locations that have been co-named after notable people.Diana Ross, Peter Jennings and Run DMC all have something unusual in common. Each of has a New York City street or playground named after them.

You can find where each of their eponymous spots are, thanks to a new map by the Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS). The map helps connect people to the nearly 2,500 streets, intersections and other locations that have been co-named after notable people. [Read more…] about New Source for New York City Street Name History

Chinatown Community History

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Chinatown, Manhattan (NYC Tourism)May is Asian American and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month and in celebration this episode of A New York Minute In History Podcast highlights the community history of Manhattan’s Chinatown, one of the oldest and largest Chinese and Chinese American communities in the United States. [Read more…] about Chinatown Community History

Chinatown’s Mosco Street: A Last Remnant of the Five Points

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Mosco Street Signs courtesy jayemsey.comNestled within New York City’s sprawling Chinatown is a little, one block street named Mosco. It is the last remnant of Cross Street (later Park Street) which originally ran from Lafayette Street on the west to Mott Street on the east in the first half of the 19th century.

The telescoping of Cross Street into Park Street and finally, into Mosco Street would normally be considered a sad diminution of a once proud thoroughfare were it not for the little street that remains in its wake. [Read more…] about Chinatown’s Mosco Street: A Last Remnant of the Five Points

Chuck Connors & Slum Tourism in Chinatown

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Dating from 1785, Edward Mooney House at 18 Bowery, at the corner of Pell Street in Lower Manhattan’s Chinatown, is one of New York’s oldest surviving brick townhouses. Built shortly after the British evacuated New York and before George Washington became President, its architecture contains elements of both pre-Revolutionary (British) Georgian and the in-coming (American) Federal style. Designated in 1966 as a landmark sample of domestic architecture, Mooney House has three stories, an attic and full basement.

The property itself and the land on which it was built are manifestations of Manhattan’s socio-political emergence. The house harbors a history of various functions that involved a diverse mix of tenants and occupants, reflecting the chaotic rise of the metropolis. [Read more…] about Chuck Connors & Slum Tourism in Chinatown

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